CTFishTalk.com: Rainbow Reservoir 07/10 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

After reading about the removal of the Spoonville Dam, yesterday, I decided to check out Rainbow Reservoir:

I was surprised to see that the water level was close to what I think is normal:

When I launched in The Other Woman at 11:00 am, the air was warm, there were only a few clouds in the sunny sky and there was a slight breeze blowing down the length of the reservoir from the northeast. The water temperature was 79-1/2 degrees and it was murky; I could see down only a couple of feet. I quickly realized that the water in the lake was stagnant. There was no indication that there was any current at all. From past experience, I knew that the fishing would be tough without any current. Right Jed? Wink

The reservoir is an impoundment of the Farmington River and river fish typically don't actively feed in still water. Since the sign for the date of the next drawdown didn't have a date on it, my guess is that they had closed the dam to allow the reservoir to refill after the last drawdown and, although it was nearly full, they hadn't reopened it, yet. I decided to troll a couple of Rapalas down to the remains of the old dam, which is almost a mile southeast from the ramp. I tied on a Perch Jointed Shad Rap JSR-7 and began working my way down the northwest shore. As I was tying a Perch Shad Rap SR-9 on another setup, I got a hit on the JSR-7:

Cannibal!

I got both Perch Rapalas in the water and tried to stay in 11 to 12 feet of water. Whenever I'd get into 10 feet of water, the SR-9 would drag the bottom and foul with weeds. And whenever I'd get into less than nine feet of water, the JSR-7 would drag the bottom and foul, too. Confused

I hit a shallow flat about 1/4 mile down the northwest shore, so I crossed the reservoir and headed down the steeper southeast shore. It had more shade, anyway. Wink

It wasn't long before the SR-9 got a yellow perch, too:

Almost an hour passed before the JSR-7 got a third yellow perch as I approached the remains of the old dam:

I threw a drop shot for only 10 minutes before I lost it to a big snag on the bottom. Although my fish finder marked fish on several clumps of debris on the bottom, I couldn't get them to bite anything. I decided to troll down to where the Farmington River flows into the reservoir, hoping there would be some current from the inflowing water. Along the way, I stopped to fish some weedbeds on a shallow flat along the northwest shore:

I threw a Bullfrog Zoom Horny Toad over the weeds, but didn't get any hits on it. Although I could see a lot of fish fry in the water among the weeds, there was almost no surface activity from feeding fish. So I tied on a wacky rigged green pumpkin/red flake five inch Senko and tossed it into a cloud of fry that was breaking the surface nearby. Sure enough, the wacky Senko got picked up by a smallie:

I threw the wacky Senko among the beds of weeds without getting another hit. So I decided to pedal across the reservoir to the weedbeds on the southeast shore:

The small creek that flows into the reservoir near the middle of the weedbed must be filled with nitrates, because a thick coating of green slime covered all of the weeds along the shore. As I had crossed the reservoir, The Other Woman's rudder control malfunctioned. The rudder got stuck so that I would turn only to port. I had to raise the rudder and use my paddle to turn to starboard or maintain a straight course. I fiddled with the rudder control mechanism until I was able to either turn slightly to starboard or hard to port. At that point, I was getting pretty hot. The water temperature had risen to 83-1/2 degrees and the fish weren't biting, so I decided to troll the JSR-7 back to the ramp and headed up the southeast shore. Although I trolled it over several clumps of cover on the bottom that my fish finder indicated were holding fish, I didn't get any hits on it. I stopped a few times along the way back to the ramp. First, I checked out a blue heron:

Then I checked out some submerged trees that had apparently washed into the reservoir with part of the shore:

Although my fish finder marked a ton of fish on the submerged trees, they weren't interested in a wacky Senko, a Baby Bass Strike King KVD Caffeine Shad or a Smelt 2-1/2 inch Gulp! minnow on a 1/16 ounce round jighead. I also stopped to fish the Caffeine Shad over some shallow, non-slime covered weedbeds that were across the reservoir from the ramp. Other than some tugs from an overly ambitious sunny, I got nothing before I headed off of the water at 3:00 pm. I have to find out the date of the next drawdown. I'd like to fish the reservoir after they open up the dam and the water begins flowing out of it. The stagnant water was pretty dead, today.
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Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Great report as usual Phil!

chud059 · Joined: 29 Mar 2011 Posts: 413 Location: Manchester

I grew up in Windsor Locks, used to go to Rainbow all the time....they had the hatchery part open when I was a kid and you could watch the fish climb up the hatchery. Don't know if they still do that or not. I go up there when ever visit my mom in WL, the fishing from the shore is crappy, even the cove behind the parking area but I have great memories of the place when I was a kid and we had a boat. Great Report Phil. I'm actually going to be up there tomorrow, I have an errand in WL then I may shoot up to congamond to fish a couple places from shore that I can access....may even shoot up rt 20 to barkhamsted/winsted area.

SAP284 · Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT

I'm surprised no Rock Bass lol. I went there last month and I couldn't buy a keeper. All shorts - Perch, Smallies, Rock Bass.

I know where that submerged tree area is. My finder always marks fish in that area too. A lot of trees under there. You are probably marking all my lost lures lol Wink

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Steve

rxpxtx · Joined: 06 May 2012 Posts: 259

I was excited when I got down the report and saw a few fish that you caught in the mouth. Nice day out.
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Dave..... I can be a pain in the bass.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

rxpxtx · Joined: 06 May 2012 Posts: 259

I know Phil...I'm sorry. I troll plenty. I'm just breakin your stones. That should be allowed on a fishing forum, right?
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Dave..... I can be a pain in the bass.

hoppy · Joined: 20 May 2007 Posts: 393 Location: congamuck

Peco.....that place is LOADED with pearch. Ice fish there sometime and its just about all you will catch. Rainbow can be brutally slow when the water isnt moving. Jigs and brushogs or any other crayfish imitiation works well there.
If you really want to catch some smallies there........get some live crayfish and anchor up by the old dam(pilings). I have a buddy that fishs lots of live bait.
I watched him pull in approx 2dz smallies, nothing under 2lbs in less then 2 hours on live crayfish there. It was rediculous to say the liest. Not my type of fishing but hey to each there own.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

No live bait for me, either, Mark. At least, not yet. Wink

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slim2043 · Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Posts: 446 Location: Plainville CT

No harm in trying to imitate crayfish to see what comes up. Im down to go try. Mid July and no Smallies yet for me this year... Real tears :'(
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Zach0208 · Joined: 10 Jun 2012 Posts: 75

Nice report Phil. It's interesting that when I started looking for bass, I usually got YP everytime. But now I am doing better on bass and haven't got hit by these tasty fish for a long time. Laughing

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

Ive been wanting to go back to rainbow since last time me and SAP went, maybe carolina rigged craw creatures will catch em'? We marked a ton of fish when we went but only put a couple in the boat, I caught a few on small tubes off that tree, but that was it, I need a do-over there. lol Cool

mikey5string · Joined: 09 May 2012 Posts: 179 Location: West Haven